Archives November 2022

Kia Australia is “very happy” with local reception to the new-generation Niro crossover, but the plug-in hybrid version isn’t likely to rejoin the Australian range.

Kia’s local chief operating officer, Damien Meredith, told CarExpert he’s pleased with current volumes of the new Niro – and the Niro Plus purpose built vehicle (PBV) – but stopped short of indicated a return of the Niro Plug-in Hybrid.

“We’re very happy with the numbers we’re doing,” Mr Meredith said.

“[But] will we bring back Niro Plug-in Hybrid, probably not.”

Mr Meredith added that the original indicated figure of 100-150 units per month of the new Niro across both Hybrid (HEV) and EV models remains accurate for our market.

“It’s about that, yeah,” he said.

General manager of product planning, Roland Rivero, also reiterated the fact tight supply in Australia is largely down to the priority given to global markets with

The Great Wall Motors (GWM) Ora Good Cat electric hatchback finally gets its official Malaysian market launch today, following the opening of order books two weeks ago and having collected more than 100 bookings on the opening weekend. In Europe earlier this year, this car was launched as the Funky Cat.

The Ora Good Cat arrives in Malaysia with two battery capacity specifications in two trim level variants – the 400 Pro and the 500 Ultra, priced from RM139,800 on-the-road, without insurance for the 400 Pro, and RM169,800 for the 500 Ultra.

Both trim levels feature the same powertrain configuration, which is a single electric motor producing 143 PS and 210 Nm of torque driving the front wheels. The 0-100 km/h sprint is done in 7.9 seconds and top speed is 152 km/h, according to Great Wall Motors.

The 400

Volkswagen and Walkinshaw’s fettled first-generation Amarok ute has officially reached the end of the road.

The 2600th example of the W-Series Amarok this week rolled off the production line in Clayton, Victoria, ahead of the next-generation Amarok’s arrival Down Under early in 2023.

The final car was a W580SE, of which 99 were produced.

In total, Volkswagen and Walkinshaw produced 1419 examples of the W580S, 458 of the W580, 599 of the W580X, 99 of the W580SE, and 25 pilot and development cars.

Although they haven’t confirmed the partnership will live on into a new generation, Volkswagen and Walkinshaw have signalled their interest in doing a version of the second-generation Amarok.

“This relationship has been hugely successful,” Volkswagen Commercial Australia director Ryan Davies has previously told CarExpert.

“[Walkinshaw is] a great partner to deal with, there’s a lot of mutual respect, and I think we can definitely make something

Another Wednesday, and so it’s time for the usual weekly fuel pricing update, with the ministry of finance having announced the retail price of fuels for the coming week of November 24 to November 30.

As it has been for a while, there is no change to the price of RON 97 petrol, which continues at the RM3.95 per litre it was at last week. Indeed, it is now heading into the eighth week that the premium fuel has remained priced as such, from when its price dropped five sen from RM4 per litre on October 6.

Of course, RON 95 petrol remains at its ceiling price of RM2.05 per litre, as set by the Malaysian government in February last year. No change either to the prices of diesel fuels, where the Euro 5 B10 and B20 grades continue at RM2.15 per litre, and the Euro 5 B7 blend continues